Ashiteru Tsukasa
by Tsukasa-kun
Summary: The intro to the .hack character I love the most. This is what I think happened...please R&R! (Can someone please email me a list of the server names? Domo arigatou!))
1. hackIntroduction

It was so rainy and cold.  
I awaken to nothingness.  
I look in my hand and notice a gaming pack called.  
."The World".  
  
Ashiteru.Tsukasa  
By Tsukasa_Kun  
Introduction  
January 1, 2010  
I walked into the gaming store New Year's Day. It was just a tad chilly,  
but not quite as bad as you might think. For in the display window was a  
copy of the latest MMORPG, created not very long ago. I was just a little  
kid when it came out, though, and it was way too expensive at the time.  
But now I had been saving my allowance, and there was a sale in the game  
shop. I am a teenager now and am quite ready to try out the quirks and  
complications of "The World."  
I wandered to the display shelf and picked up a copy of the game, marked  
"25% off". I silently made my way to the register to pay for it. The  
cashier looked at me suspiciously before ringing it up. "Aren't you a  
little.young to play this game?"  
I gave her a look that said "Whatever", picked up my purchase, readjusted  
my coat, and walked out the door.  
  
-There! Sorry it was so short, but, it was only the introduction, after  
all!! I will reveal who it is later if you hadn't already guessed, 'k? 


	2. School Days

Ahhhh!! On to Chapter one! Oh, and I don't own .hack//SIGN or any of its characters. Read on to learn more about our intrepid hero!!  
  
Ashiteru.Tsukasa  
  
Chapter one: School Days  
  
2005-Two years before "The World" was available as an MMORPG.  
  
I was 10 years old. I remember my mother as she escorted me to school-her smile, her gentle touch.  
  
I also remember clinging to her side as she patted, gesturing that I should move on. Instead, I just buried my face into her skirt. I knew what was beyond these gates. My mother got down to my level and dried my tears, assuring me that it was all right. She would be back to get me at the end of the day.  
  
"Promise?" I asked between tears.  
  
She locked fingers with me and ran her fingers through my pale hair.  
  
-Present-  
  
I look back on that day as like a nightmare.  
  
*Kaa-san......you never came back...*  
  
-Back to 2005-  
  
I got the call that the principal wanted to see me. I slowly meandered out the door, and even through the hallway, I could hear their never-ending giggles. It all pounded in my head as the principal took me in.  
  
He stated in a sad voice that my mother had collapsed suddenly on the way home. Apparently she had contracted a virus that slowly attacks the heart.  
  
His words echoed in my mind as I was ushered out to recess.  
  
-Recess a few days later-  
  
"Ow!" I held my head as a stinging snowball impaled my face.  
  
"Get up, sissy. It's just a game." One of the guys mocked.  
  
"Oh look, he's gonna cry."  
  
Another snowball hit, followed by another, and then another repeatedly.  
  
"Stop it!!" I shouted between tears.  
  
Then, I suddenly felt a face full of snow as someone shoved me from behind. I stayed there, hoping my pale hair and snow-covered body would act as some sort of camouflage to the world. Blood trickled down my face and reddened the snow cushioning me as I sobbed.  
  
-Two nights before-  
  
"Kaa-san, where did you go?? Kaa-san!"  
  
I looked in the hospital room, only to notice a lump in a bed, connected to all sorts of machines and tubes.  
  
My father held me back as I watched the doctors shake their heads at the heart monitor, which had slowed down and made one long beep.  
  
Sadly, they placed the thin hospital bedspread over her face.  
  
-Back in 2005-  
  
"Kaa-san, you liar!" I buried my head in the snow one more time before I felt strong arms lift me up. I viciously fought the arms and the tears, but it was useless. I slowly gave in as they took me inside.  
  
......Her wake was the night before. Tears streamed down my pale face as I echoed into the now nothingness:  
  
"......Kaa-san......"  
  
*Back to present*  
  
It was morning when I had bought the game, right before school. I walked into the schoolyard just a few minutes before school was to start. Just as I was passing through, there was a sharp pain in the back of my head, forcing me to the pavement.  
  
"Hey, dummy!!" A gruff voice sounded behind me. I struggled to sit up and focus. Just before I could get up, he had found my copy of "The World" and was messin' around with it. "Hey, what's this?"  
  
Another appeared behind him. "Maybe it's something to add to his image!"  
  
A girl laughed. "As if!!"  
  
The main bully guffawed and threw the game back to me, hitting me square in the stomach, knocking me to the ground.  
  
Tears welled up in my eyes as they walked off.  
  
* * *  
  
At lunch break, I met a teacher who had seen what had transpired earlier. He walked over to me and asked if I was all right. I looked at the floor as I spoke quietly. "Why?" Tears welled in my eyes "Why do they have to do this? Is it because I'm different?"  
  
The teacher put his finger beneath my chin and lifted my face up. "Maybe you should just move on. I am no counselor, although you might need one. But remember this: Some of mankind is no respecter of other persons." I nodded. I once again spent lunch by myself in the cafeteria. As I was silently eating my sandwich, I heard one of the girls across the table mention my name and I felt her gaze upon me. I wrapped up my sandwich, tossed the rest of my lunch in the trash, and left.  
  
* * *  
  
At the end of the day, I went home by myself, as usual. I don't have very many friends and besides, I had always preferred being by myself. Whatever was happening in the real world, I sure wasn't there.  
  
I walked in my door and went straight to my room. There she was...my only source of comfort.my only friend. My cat, startled at my abrupt entrance, hopped out of my bed and began rubbing against my ankles. I picked her up and scratched beneath her chin. "Ayame...you understand, right? You know that you're my only friend."  
  
She purred her response as I continued. "What should I do? Where should I go?" I look at the game on my bed. "Should I really-?"  
  
I pressed her hard against my chest. I looked in the mirror and found that I looked much thinner than before. I remembered that I hadn't been eating much lately. In fact, I had never been the same, since Mom died.  
  
I gently set Ayame back on my bed and watched as she made a new perch on my windowsill. I tear the shirk wrap off of the box and open it. One by one, I empty the contents on my bed. The manual plopped on my bed and I stared at the box. "Warning-Some assembly required". I looked at the plethora of parts littering my bed and gave a little laugh. "Yeah, no kidding..."  
  
After studying the manual for some time, I set to work.  
  
A/N: My first chappie done!! Gomen nasai that it took so long for me to get it up...I been busy, and my break has just started today (I had an 80- question final...whew)! Domo arigatou!! 


End file.
